In a Cycle
by Mei Neko
Summary: Looks like Shuichi is more than a pink fluff ball when a turned child cousin asks for him to take his place in an invitation for an investigation. Last part finally up!!!!
1. The Case

This is my first slightly slashy fanfic. Disclaimer: Characters from Gravitation and Detective Conan are not mine and they belong to the original owners and people who made the animations. However any other character that is not from either anime are mine.althought they are not very important. *******************************************************************  
  
In a Cycle Mei Neko  
  
Act One: The Case  
  
Shuichi muttered softly as he heard the phone ring. Yuki had just kicked him out of the office and he had finally felt his mood lighten when the phone rang.  
  
"Hiro, if you're calling from your date, I'm going to kill you." He muttered as he picked up the phone. "Moshi moshi! This is Yuki residence!"  
  
"Ano.is Shindo Shuichi in?" a child like voice asked. Shuichi blinked. Who would be calling him with that kind of voice?  
  
"Hai. This is he! Demo.who are you?" Shuichi asked curiously. There was a pause.  
  
"It's me, Shu-chan. It's Kudo Shinshi."  
  
"NANI? Matte.your mom just told me this. So it's now Conan?"  
  
"Hai. Demo, I'm not calling you for a chat. I need your help."  
  
"Huh? What do you need help with?"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*  
  
Shuichi groaned for the tenth time. He briefly wondered what possessed him to go to a trip with his suddenly shrunken cousin. He also wondered how the hell he had his lover, band, manager, and boss with him. Then he remembered. He had agreed to his cousin to accept an invitation to a rich yet secluded palace. Conan had explained as much as he could about his new case. So he had talked to K and Sakano about it. K, however, had other ideas about the situation. He called the host of the little gathering and managed to convince the host to take in a few more people. By a few more people, he meant himself, Sakano, Sugeru, Hiro, and Yuki. Yuki was not fond at the idea of being forced to the trip. Then Seguichi Touma found out that Yuki was going on a trip with Shuichi, he invited himself along for the ride. Shuchi glared at the blond manager for this mess.  
  
"Shu-chan!"  
  
Everyone turned to see a tall female teen with long brown hair that was let down. Shuichi looked at her with confusion until his eyes widen in shock.  
  
"RAN?! Jeez! You've really grown! Last time I saw you, I was still taller then you!" Shuichi said. However the girl kept running. Shuichi blinked as he was tackled to the ground. Yuki felt his eyebrow twitch to see his young lover on the ground with a girl.  
  
"SHU-CHAN!!! It's been over a year! Just where the hell could he be?" Ran demanded as she began to shake the shoulders of the shorter form beneath her. Shuichi swore he could see stars when the shaking finally stopped. Then he shook his head to clear up his vision. He saw the concerned eyes of Ran and grinned.  
  
"So you two did hitch up! You know, I thought I would have to kill that kid just to make him see the light. Anyway, he didn't tell me where the hell he was. Last time I talked with him was last week. He told me to accept the invitation for him. So what is going on?" Shuichi asked as he picked up his forgotten bags.  
  
"We received an invitation as well. Did Shinichi mention about the case that it was involved with?"  
  
"Hai. I got all the info that I need. More than I want to know." Shuichi muttered.  
  
"Ah.Kaito Kid was involved with it until Father found the missing item that he stole." Ran began explaining. The forgotten group that was with Shuichi stared while Yuki glared at Ran and then turned his glare at Hiro. Hiro raised an eyebrow at that.  
  
"Hey.don't look at me like that. I've only known Shuichi since high school. He only mentioned the name Shinichi once." Hiro replied to the silent question.  
  
"I know of a Shinichi. Kudo Shinichi, one of the youngest and most brilliant detectives in Eastern Japan that I heard of." K said thoughtfully. "I've also heard that there was a younger detective then him. However there were no records that the person even exists."  
  
"It seems like our dear Shindo-san has more secrets then we thought he has." Touma said smiling as he tried to figure out what was going on.  
  
"Ran-onnechan!"  
  
The entire group turned to see a boy of eight running towards them. He was wearing a cute blue jacket and red bow tie. He also was wearing large framed glasses. Ran turned and smiled at the little boy. Then she picked him and pushed the smaller body towards Shuichi. Shuichi looked at the boy curiously and the boy did the same.  
  
"Ne.aren't you Shindo Shuichi? The lead singer of Bad Luck?" the boy asked innocently. Shuichi smirked at bit at that.  
  
"Aren't you that annoying kid that Shinichi keeps telling me about? The one that took a bath with Ran?" Shuichi said as he put the boy down. The kid scowled at him. "Ne.Yuki, here's a mini version of your brother. Just about a pervert like him."  
  
"Ah! Shu-chan! Don't say such things? He's only eight! This is Conan. And what did Shinichi say about Conan?" Ran asked scowling. Shuichi laughed nervously at that.  
  
"Nothing. Auntie told me about that little incident. Anyway, it's not like you haven't bathe with a guy. Didn't you bathe with Shinichi when you were little?" Shuichi teased. Ran blushed before she smiled and then her arm shot out and punch a hole in a tree that was next to Shuichi. Shuichi whimpered as he saw how much damaged the tree took. The others gaped at the tall teen who had caused so much damaged. "Everyone.this is Mori Ran. She happens to be a Karate master freak. She also happens to be my cousin's semi-girlfriend."  
  
"She's kinda like K." Sugeru muttered while Hiro nodded in agreement.  
  
"And the little brat here is Edogawa Conan. He's staying with Ran until his parents come home. Anyway, let's get going! I don't want to carry these things all day!" Shuichi said. The group kept on walking while Ran and Shuichi chatted.  
  
"Ano.just to warn you." Ran began.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~**~*~*~*~~**~*~*~~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~~*~*~*~*~*~~**  
  
"WAI!!! BAD LUCK!!!" three voices screamed. Shuichi blinked in surprised to see three kids about Conan's age running towards them. One was a skinny kid, the second was a fat kid, and the third was a cute little girl. All three had stars in their eyes.  
  
"Wai! Ran-oneechan! I didn't know you knew Shindo Shuichi! The lead singer of Bad Luck!" the little girl gushed. Shuichi smiled as he patted the girl on the head. Then he turned Ran.  
  
"Kids?" Shuichi asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Hohoho! I see you have changed! I use to remember when you were little with black hair. You usually dressed so nicely as well. How have things changed!" an old fat man with glasses asked with a smile. Shuichi grinned as he slapped the old man on the back.  
  
"Dr. Agasa! It has been a long time! Still working on those gadgets of yours? Got a present for me?" Shuichi teased. Agasa laughed as he gave the singer an orange yo-yo. "Hey! I'm not a kid anymore!"  
  
"I'll start giving you cash once you learn how to count. Anyway, how are your folks?"  
  
"Heh.you know how mom is going all freaky about her nephew, now me? Well.I got disowned for a while. Anyway, Shinichi invited me here. So what the hell are you doing here?" Shuichi asked. He then noticed a butler. "Excuse me, could you take these bags and show my group their rooms? Ne Yuki? I want to talk with them for a while. Magami-san said to meet at the den at three; it's two o'clock right now. All of you should clean up a bit."  
  
"Hai. That seems to be a good idea Shindo-san. Come now Eiri, let's relax a bit." Touma said coolly as he grabbed Yuki's arm and began to follow the butler. Hiro expected Shuichi to freak, but nothing happened.  
  
"Thanks Touma! I'll see you all in a while!" Shuichi said as he walked away with the children.  
  
Hiro looked at the others who were blinking in surprise.  
  
"Doesn't anyone find it quite odd that Shuichi didn't freak out?" Hiro asked. No one disagreed.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Conan watched as everyone piled into the den. He was worried about what was going on. He found it odd that Kaito kid had stolen something, and that he was caught on video. Also the fact that the note was bothering him. Also the fact that the people who were invited were quite unusual. That was why he had called his cousin, Shuichi to help out.  
  
There are only a few people who knew the truth about his cousin. Shindo Shuichi is the only one who had managed to capture the original Kaito thief. Also that Shuichi was one of the youngest detectives ever in Japan. However, there was no proof that Shuichi even exist in the police reports due to the help of Dr. Agasa. Conan found that one of the greatest mysteries of all time. Why did his cousin give up the business so suddenly? All records had been erased and any files that his cousin was in were either stolen or misplaced.  
  
"Minna-san! It's time to start this meeting! I would like to introduce some special guests here! We have several celebrities here and I hope you all get along. Our most popular group would be Bad Luck! As well as Yuki Eiri and Seguchi Touma of Nittle Grasper! I'm sure all of you know the band. Then we have Mouri Kogorou, the hottest detective in the East as of now. As for the hottest detective of the west, Hattori Heiji with his lovely companion, Toyama Kazuha. Also, we have the new young movie star Neko Mei." Magami Sato said smiling at all of his guests. Conan looked around to see that there was more than that.  
  
There were three other men as well. One was tall and thin with a rather thin mustache. His hair was gray and he was wearing a navy business suit. It was the infamous Hino Seiji, a science fiction writer.  
  
The next man looked about fifty with a Hawaiian printed shirt and slacks. He also had on some sunglasses. This was the American actor Jonathan Mills.  
  
The very last man was shorter then the other two and yet had a young aura around him. He was wearing a red polo shirt and black pants. He gave a smile at Conan who smiled back. Conan looked over at his cousin to see that the singer was grinning like mad. He briefly wondered how his cousin worked on these cases.  
  
"Now that the introductions have been made, let us go to the facts of this case, Detective?" Magami said as he looked over at Mouri for assistance. The tall man with the mustache gave a grin before he plastered a rather serious face.  
  
"Last week, Kaito kid had broken into a National museum in Tokyo. However, nothing was stolen since I had uncovered the clues to his next heist. Nothing was stolen, however recently he has given another note to us and we believe that it would be here." Mouri explained.  
  
"This Kaito Kid is a theft.what does it have to do with us?" K asked frowning. Mouri glared at the man before he cleared his throat.  
  
"Nothing at all."  
  
The entire Bad Luck Company blinked before they glared at him.  
  
"What do you mean? Then why the hell are we here?" Hiro demanded. Shuichi rolled his eyes.  
  
"I was the only one who was supposed to be there to represent my cousin, Kudou Shinichi. You went along because of K." Shuichi muttered. Everyone ignored this.  
  
"Anyway, as Mouri-san was saying, Kaito kid had left a note containing a list of certain people who should be able to help out in the clue to what he will attempt of steal next." Hattori said finishing off the explanation. The rest of the guest blinked as they looked at each other. How could they be the clues onto the next robbery?  
  
"How is that possible?" Hino asked frowning.  
  
"As of now, we have you all gathered and we will be observing you until farther notice. Right now, let us just relax for the day and figure out later on." Hattori said cheerfully. Slowly they began to leave. However Neko gave a cry as she jumped Shuichi.  
  
"WAI!! I always wanted to meet you in person Shindo-san! But my work always gets to me!" Neko said grinning. Shuichi gave a chuckle as he patted the girl on the head.  
  
"The same goes for me. I love all of your movies so far! As well as that musical you did! You should have gone into the music business!" Shuichi said grinning. Then he turned to the others. "You guys want to do something? Since all we got to do is just hang here, let's take advantage with this wonderful palace!"  
  
"Hai! I totally agree on you with that, Shu-chan!" Ran said smiling. Then she turned to Conan and the other children. "How about it? What do you kids want to do? We really shouldn't leave you wondering around such an expensive place."  
  
"Ran-onnechan! I want to hang with Shuichi-onnisan!" Conan whined a bit as he hanged on to Shuichi's hand. The pink haired teen sighed as he gave a glare at the kid. Then he gave a smile at the others.  
  
"How about I watch the kids while the rest of you explore? It'll be my birthday gift to you Ran!" Shuichi said grinning. Ran gave a grin while Hattori seemed a tad bit worried but Conan quickly gave him a sign that said it was okay.  
  
"Honto? It would be nice to take a break from being a baby sitter.demo, what about your friends?" Ran asked. Shuichi gulped as he gave a smile at everyone else. He was very happy that Yuki could not stand kids.  
  
"Why don't you show the others around? Besides I need to make a quick phone call." Shuichi said smiling while trying his best to ignore the looks he was getting from the others. Yuki was glaring at him.  
  
"Okay! We'll meet you at dinner! You're always good with kids, Shu-chan!" Ran said cheerfully as she began to usher the others out. Conan tugged at Shuichi's clothes and nodded his head in a different direction. Shuichi quickly walked with Conan, trying his best to ignore the chilling feeling of his friends glaring at him. ***********************************************************************  
  
Conan smirked at his cousin before the two managed to occupy the other kids and quickly let them to the next room with the door open so that they would be able to see what the three were doing. Then he turned to his cousin.  
  
"You figured it out, right?" Conan asked frowning. Shuichi shrugged as he picked up the phone and quickly dialed a number. He waited for a few moments before he began to talk in it.  
  
"Yo! Sis! What's up?"  
  
Conan waited as Shuichi began to do small talk before finally getting to the point.  
  
"I was just wondering if there was a letter to me from a guy name Magami.hm.I see.can you open it for me? How is it addresses? I see.thanks for the help there. I'll get you tickets for the next show and backstage passes, ja!"  
  
Shuichi frowned as he hung up the phone. He turned to Conan.  
  
"We got ourselves some work to do." Shuichi muttered as he sat down. Conan raised an eyebrow and sat down at another chair.  
  
"Someone knows who you really are." Conan said as he frowned.  
  
"Someone who is not Kaito Kid." Shuichi said looking up the ceiling.  
  
"Both of us got letters."  
  
"As well as a few others. I wouldn't be surprise if the whole thing is set up. I'm not sure if you noticed, but that note is copied." Shuichi said looking at his younger cousin. Conan gave a grin at that.  
  
"Really, Shu-chan, don't think that I look younger that I don't know that." Conan said as he stretched a bit. Shuichi frowned as he thought some more. He looked around the room.  
  
"Don't you think something is really weird? I mean about the fact on how easy it was for my manger to convince Magami-san to let me invite a whole bunch of people in an investigation. Also the fact that whoever set this up has unlimited connections?" Shuichi said pondering. Conan looked at his cousin carefully.  
  
"What makes you think about that? Because this guy knows who you really are?" Conan asked quietly. Shuichi gave a grin at him.  
  
"Maa! You're really sharp. This guy knows about my past, but he doesn't know about the me now. That means he or she was in a hurry to find my address. Two detectives that were invited to this gathering. Not to mention both are supposed to be missing." Shuichi muttered.  
  
"Not to mention that we have an author, two movie stars, and who knows what else." Conan pointed out. Shuichi thought for a minute as he frowned. Then his eyes widen in horror.  
  
"Shit.I don't think it's possible.demo.it might be that Bad Luck is part of the investigation as well! Shit! I need to make a few more phone calls." Shuichi whispered as he quickly picked up the phone. Conan frowned at this.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"I know you don't pay much attention to the entertainment world, Shin, but if I'm correct, then we got a lot more to worry about. Moshi moshi? Ryuichi? Hai! I need to ask you something important! Ryu-chan! Did you get a letter that is from a guy name Magami? Ah.ah.okay! Thanks for helping!" with that, Shuichi disconnected the phone. Conan stared at him for a minute.  
  
"Both Bad Luck and Nittle Grasper is also part of this. Two bands.even if there is only one person from Nittle Grasper. Both of them are similar to each other, only difference is the fact that one of them started earlier then the other." Conan muttered. Shuichi gave a nod at that. Conan turned to the other with a worried expression.  
  
"Is it possible that Yuki-san has a letter as well?" Conan asked. Shuichi frowned and shook his head.  
  
"I always check his mail for him. He didn't get a letter.but maybe." Shuichi said as he picked up the phone again. He crossed his fingers, hoping that the person would pick up the phone. "Moshi moshi? Tat-chan! Hai! I was wondering.did you get a letter for Yuki by someone name Magami? Ah.yeah.ah.okay! Thanks!"  
  
"Yes?" Conan asked. Shuichi gave a nod at that. Conan frowned. "It looks like we have two of everything."  
  
"What about that one short guy? I didn't recognize him." Shuichi said as he looked over to check the other three kids. Conan smirked at him.  
  
"He's suppose to be Neko-san's bodyguard." Conan said letting his sentence fade as Shuichi's eyes glittered.  
  
"I guess all we need to do is ask a few simple questions." Shuichi said smiling. *******************************************************************  
  
This is the first part of this fic. You want more then review and tell me how you like it or hate it. 


	2. Past Memories

Act Two: Past Memories  
  
Yuki frowned as he tuned out the teens chatter on the music world and just about anything else in general. He was more worried about the pink fluff, not that he would admit it. Usually the pink hair singer would spend as much time as possible with him. Now, it seems like he was pushing him away. Not only that, but Shuichi seemed more distant during the time when he received that invitation. Almost as if he was changed into a different person at times. Yuki did not like change. If anything, he wanted the change with Shuichi in his life as the very last one. Now he had to deal with this.  
  
"Ne, Mori-san, how do you know Shindo-san?" Sugeru asked politely as possible. Everyone turned to the girl at that question. It was the question that was plaguing their minds through out the entire time they had reached the mansion. Ran gave a smile and a silly grin on her face.  
  
"Please, call me Ran! Shu-chan and I met when I was six. He was about seven at that time. He and Shinichi were always together whenever Shu-chan got to visit. He had gotten Shinichi that being a detective was better than writing about one. Anyway, Shu-chan was always so smart. He could solve mind puzzles as if he were breathing. Shinichi can do the same as well. You can say they were practically alike. Shinichi even told me once that Shu-chan used to be a detective. I couldn't believe it, because Shu- chan always spent time with us. I always wondered where he had the time to solve murders and robberies." Ran said as she shook her head. However, everyone else paused at this.  
  
"Smart? That can't be possible. He always had the lowest grade in school!" Hiro said frowning. Ran gave a laugh at that.  
  
"Shu-chan was always weird like that. He often said that he had no need to prove to anyone. He says he only does enough to pass. He never wanted to go to college anyway. I think that's way his parents are so angry at him. The fact that he was wasting his brain on nothing but music really upset them. He doesn't show off his knowledge like Shinichi does. He mostly keeps that part to himself." Ran explained as she giggled.  
  
Yuki frowned as he processed this in his mind. What was going on? Touma gave a smile at Ran as he began to think as well. Shindo Shuichi seemed more complex then he thought. Touma did not like the fact that he did not know this. This side of Shuichi could be dangerous to Eiri.  
  
K looked like the only one who was calm about this. Then he gave a big dangerous smile and laughed as he slapped Sakano on the back.  
  
"You know plenty about Shuichi's childhood Ran!" K said grinning. Ran gave a nod at that.  
  
"Well, all three of us were playmates. Even thought Shu-chan was a year older then us, he never cared. There are times where he could be an idiot, but if you think about and just watch, Shuichi is quite scary in his own way. It's almost if he knew what was going to happen. Just like the time." Ran trialed off as her eyes wondered off into a scene that only she could see.  
  
"What do you mean, Ran-san?" Sugeru asked eagerly. He was now interested in his lead singer's mind. It was interesting that Shuichi could have a serious side to him. He wanted to know just how faces did Shindo Shuichi have. Heiji and Kazuha looked at Ran in concern. She gave the two of them a shaky smile. Then she turned to the others.  
  
"I guess you guys don't know much about Shuichi if you're asking all of these questions. Shuichi told me once not to blame my dad for my parents' separation. Well, at least not for the wrong reason. I didn't understand it until recently. Even Shinichi knew this. Demo, he told me once that he was worried about Shu-chan." Ran said softly. Yuki's ears pricked at this.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Ran blinked as she turned to face the blond writer who was glaring at her with his golden eyes. She gave a brief smile at him.  
  
"You care for him? Don't worry, I've read all the magazines and seen the news. Shinichi told me once that he feels that Shu-chan could be carried away in anything he does. Now that I think about it, it's true. Trying to figure out how people think and how they act were the things that Shu-chan cared for. Shinichi told me once that Shu-chan was probably the world's greatest puzzle." Ran commented. Yuki frowned at that.  
  
"What do you mean?" Hiro asked with concern. Ran gave a Hiro a sad smile.  
  
"It's hard to know what Shu-chan is thinking. Even Shinichi had a hard time figuring it out. There are times where Shinichi can guess what Shu- chan is thinking, but there are other times when Shu-chan surprised everyone. Like the idea of becoming a pop singer. He loved music, but he was shy of the attention. I guess he must have built up some resistance." Ran mused. Hiro's eyes bugged at that. Ran giggled as she saw their expressions.  
  
"You should have been there when the three of us were forced to do a community play that Shinichi's father had written. Anyway, Shu-chan was forced to dress up as the leading girl to the play. Shinichi was the leading male and I had the third best part. Shu-chan cried about having to wear a dress." Ran said grinning at the past memory.  
  
"Telling them some old stories about me?"  
  
All of them turned to see Shuichi grinning with the four kids. Ran blushed at being caught. The others stared at him in surprise.  
  
"Shu-chan! I was just telling some good memories." Ran said embarrassed. Shuichi just gave a grin. He looked around the hall they were in.  
  
"Ah.good memories. Makes me wish I could live them again. I use to remember about running down a hallway just like this when I was a kid. I never got caught running." Shuichi mused softly. Yuki glared at this sudden insightful side of Shuichi. "I also remember that I worshipped Ryuichi as a kid. How about you, Neko-san?"  
  
Mei blinked at the questioned before she gave a smile. She giggled a bit.  
  
"Don't tell, but Jonathan Mills is my model! I love the way he acts!" Mei said blushing. Yuki frowned as he thought he saw Shuichi's eyes flash. However Shuichi merely smiled.  
  
"I know exactly how you feel. Ne, Yuki, didn't you said that you thought that Hino-san's writing was cool?" Shuichi asked innocently. Yuki glared at him.  
  
"I never said anything. My sempai thought highly of him." Yuki said coldly. This time he noticed the violet eyes widen a bit. Then Shuichi gave a sweet smile. He then turned back to Ran.  
  
"Anyway, Ran, sorry to bother you. Come on kids! Uncle Shuichi is going to treat you kids for some ice cream!"  
  
"Demo, Shu-chan, kitchens are off limits." Conan said smirking. Shuichi laughed and usher the kids away.  
  
"The only kitchen that is off limits to me kid is Yuki's! Anyone else's is free game!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~  
  
At dinner, Yuki was relived to find out that he was sitting next to Shuichi. All freaking day, Shuichi was separated from him. Yuki was one man who did not like to share anything, that includes Shindo Shuichi. Everyone was chatting happily over various subjects while eating the artistic food. However the conversation soon came to the case that was their main reason in their stay.  
  
"So, Hattori-san, Mouri-san, have you any clues or leads?" Magami asked staring at them. Hattori gave a smile.  
  
"It's sort of early for this." Heiji said smiling. Magami smiled back. Shuichi gave a grin.  
  
"Maybe it's because you don't have all the information." Shuichi commented as he sipped his wine. Everyone turned to look at the pink hair male. Magami raised an eyebrow at this.  
  
"What makes you say that Shindo-san?"  
  
"Are you sure that all of the people who are part of the case are here?" Shuichi asked as he stared at Magami with his violet eyes. Magami looked at Shuichi before he chuckled. He then shook his head.  
  
"So it is true.you are brilliant just like the rumors had it, or should I say those old police files said?" Magami said slyly. Yuki frowned as Shuichi's eye glitter just a tad bit.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Hiro asked frowning. However the two ignored everyone else.  
  
Conan frowned as he saw how his cousin was acting. He was getting into it, like an addiction. However, he had to know the truth on why his cousin had given everything up.  
  
"Wow, I had no idea that I was that popular! Besides those old police files were stolen. No one knew how they disappeared; I do believe that it is a crime to steal police files, no matter how old they are." Shuichi said sweetly. Then his eyes turned dark.  
  
"Shindo-san, what the hell is going on?" Touma asked frowning as he watched Yuki. Shuichi gave a grin and stood up. He held out his glass of wine as a toast. He looked at Magami straight in the eye.  
  
"Let's all give a toast to the Reaper, for he has come to take away the souls of those who have sinned and wish for nothing except for their deaths." Shuichi said smiling before he threw his glass to the ground. "Isn't that what the note said, Magami-san?"  
  
Everyone looked at Shuichi with confusion with the exception of Mouri who frowned. Magami's face paled a bit at Shuichi's words. He gripped his wine glass so tight that everyone could see that he was trembling. Conan frowned as he thought for awhile and then his eyes widen in shock as he understood what was going on. However he still could not believe that this was possible.  
  
"Ne, Shuichi-san, what is going on?" Mei asked with worry in her eyes. Shuichi turned to face her and gave her a sad smile.  
  
"Gomene. Everyone, those who are here in this mansion, everyone with the exception of the detectives is a target. If I'm correct, all phone lines are dead and this mansion has become a dead zone for cell phones. All of the transports are destroyed and the only way for the police to come is when the Reaper decides to make the phone call." Shuichi said softly as he saw back down. Everyone was silent for a while.  
  
"You're joking right? You're just a pink hair fluff! Just what the hell are you trying to accomplish by saying that?" Hino snapped as he stood up. He glared at Shuichi who looked at him with a sad look. Yuki stared at Shuichi as if he had grown two heads.  
  
"I never thought those old rumors were true." Mouri muttered as he stared at Shuichi. Ran looked at her father with confusion.  
  
"What do you mean? What rumors?" Ran asked worried. Heiji looked at Conan who had that look on his face that screamed out 'I know everything."  
  
"When I was still an officer, I heard rumors that several cases were being solved by a child. One of the cases was a serial murderer who called himself the Reaper."  
  
"I heard about that in the news!" Heiji muttered. Mouri frowned at him before he continued explaining to everyone.  
  
"Somehow the Reaper found that a child was foiling with this murders. He issued a challenge to the child. Being stupid, the kid took and won. However, the Reaper was never caught. It's been eleven years since he had killed. At the same time, the rumors of the case fell dead and several of the police files were gone."  
  
"Looks like Magami-san has a lot of explaining to do." Shuichi said as he turned to Magami who was silent during the entire time. "You were hoping that Shinichi would come to save you. The fact that Hattori and Mouri are here is to ensure that. However, you must have heard something about me. The Reaper is setting you as the target. He must have given you a note that contains everything for you to do in order to stay alive. One of the requests is a list of people to come here in your mansion; however something tells me that list means nothing to him. What he really wants is the person who foiled him eleven years ago. He gave you the stolen files and asked you to find the person, no matter what."  
  
Magami began to laugh a bit and shook his head. He smirked at Shuichi.  
  
"You almost had it, Shindo-san. There is a flaw in your theory. I didn't have to look you up. I had no idea that you were invited; the only other detective that I invited was Kudo Shinichi. I don't know what makes you think that I invited you, but trust me, you were not on the list." Magami said smiling. However this did not put Shuichi.  
  
"Then the name Marmalade means nothing to you?" Shuichi smiled at the shock expression on his face. "Don't' be surprise; it was a nickname that Reaper gave me."  
  
Everyone gasped as they realized just what was going on. Shuichi sighed and gave a grin.  
  
"Looks like I need to introduce myself again. I am Shindo Shuichi, the first child detective that worked with the police. Also, the lead singer of Bad Luck!" Shuichi said as he did a peace sign. Yuki stared at him and shook his head.  
  
"Baka."  
  
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"You knew about him, didn't you?" Heiji asked as he and Conan were playing chess just before they go to bed. Conan gave a nod at that.  
  
"Of course, he's my cousin. Besides, I figured it was about time to ask him for his help. Also, there is the fact that it has been awhile since he was on a case." Conan said quietly. Heiji frowned at him.  
  
"Aren't you afraid that he'll get worked up on this?"  
  
"Yes, but I have to know." Conan said. Heiji frowned.  
  
"Know what?"  
  
"Why he stopped being a detective. I just have to know." Conan said as he check mate Heiji. His older friend sighed and shook his head.  
  
"Hey, Kudo, don't you think it's better not to find out? From what Ran tells me, it's probably better not to figure him out. She says even you have trouble trying to figure him out."  
  
Conan was silent for a while before he jumped off the chair he was sitting on. He walked over to his bed before he turned.  
  
"The day Shuichi stopped was the day I truly wanted to become a detective. It wasn't competition or pride. It was to find out the truth. His mystery told me that all if matters is the truth; that there is only one truth. I want to find out why he gave up." Conan said. Heiji sighed and shook his head.  
  
"Maybe it's because you are better then he is."  
  
Conan was silent for a while. Then he shook his head.  
  
"No.I can never be better than Shuichi. I can't be."  
  
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"I don't get it, since when were you a detective?" Hiro demanded. The three Bad Luck members had gotten a room to share. The others were going to be sleeping in a different room. Shuichi just hoped that Yuki would not be so grumpy in the morning. It was true that he had neglected the blond writer, but it was kind of fun for all three to hang together.  
  
"When I was about eight or so. It really wasn't anything special to me." Shuichi said blushing. Sugeru studied the singer carefully. He was beginning to see what Ran was talking about. However, it seems now Shuichi is more embarrassed at the fact that he was a detective.  
  
"Nothing special? You could have gone to college if you wanted." Hiro said shaking his head. Shuichi giggled and nodded.  
  
"Ah, Hiro, if I wanted to. I didn't want to go to college. I wanted to have a band. Don't tell me you still want to be a doctor?" Shuichi teased. Hiro chuckled at that.  
  
"No. I still like being in a band. So who is this Reaper guy?" Hiro asked. Shuichi frowned and sighed.  
  
"Someone I don't like. I don't want to get into the details of it."  
  
"How about giving us a summary on why." Sugeru said as he sipped some soda that they taken from the kitchen. He briefly wondered if any of the food was poisoned.  
  
"Well, let's say that the Reaper likes to play games. He gives the police a clue or a riddle, after a certain amount of time he kills the target. At first the time limit was about a week or two. However, the police couldn't solve the clues in time so the limit grew shorter." Shuichi said shrugging.  
  
"But you managed to figure out the riddles and clues." Sugeru pointed out. Shuichi winced a bit.  
  
"Yeah, I did. I was fooling around really. At first no one believed me until the person was killed. After I figured out the second one, the Reaper figured out that I was solving the crimes."  
  
"How?"  
  
Shuichi stayed silent for a while. Then he was about to speak when a scream pierce the silence.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ For a disclaimer look at chapter one. Please review. 


	3. The Murder

Here's part three…you want a disclaimer…read the other chapters to find it!  
  
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Act Three: The Murder  
  
  
Everyone ran to the source of the scream. Both Conan and Shuichi were at the door of a room. Shuichi kicked the door before he shot his orange yo-yo, causing a hole near the door knob. After catching the yo-yo, Shuichi opened the door from the inside.   
  
"Useful." Conan commented.   
  
"Yeah, the Doc gave it to me." Shuichi said as the two entered the room. The room looked fine with the exception of a scared Mei who was trembling in one corner staring at the dead body of her bodyguard. Shuichi looked at the body carefully.   
  
"Looks like the head has been twisted." Shuichi commented at the interesting angle of the head. Conan came up from behind.   
  
"Seems simple for the Reaper."  
  
" Not really. The killer had to smash up the right side of his face to twist." Shuichi pointed out as he nodded towards of the blood. Then he looked at the walls. His eyes glittered at the writing in blood. Conan glared at it as he tried to figure out what was going on.  
  
"The night has started the hunt.   
It has witnessed the sin.   
For the slice of moon that has been the prey now is set free.   
Blood of Mars still stirs and the Vulcan's hammer demands revenge.   
A fortnight was given and yet I was ignored.   
Marmalade has joined the hunt and dawn comes to a new grain." Conan read. He was beginning to see what the puzzle meant. It was a message.   
  
"What's going on?" Mouri demanded. Ran was right behind him. Shuichi and Conan turned to see more people were looking in the room. Mouri turned on the lights and paled at the body. Ran was about to drag Conan away, when Shuichi stopped her.   
  
"You better take care of Neko-san. She was the first to see this." Shuichi said softly. Ran gave a nod and went over to Mei. Heiji looked at the room.   
  
"What do you think happened?" Heiji asked. Everyone else was pale at this.   
  
"What the hell do you mean? Someone got killed!" Hino snarled. Yuki looked until he saw Shuichi studying the body. He pushed his way over to him. He studied the singer. Shuichi's eyes were not cold or empty. It was more of a gleam in them.   
  
"We all know that, Hino-san. What Hattori-san is trying to ask is how the victim was killed. Hattori, it looks like that the killer was in the room. Judging from the temperature of the body, I say that it was about a half an hour or so since he was killed." Shuichi said frowning.   
  
"Half an hour? But the only person who was with him was Neko-san." Ran said as she hugged the poor girl. Hino glared at the two girls.  
  
"That would make her the killer!"  
  
Mei gave a sob and shook her head. Shuichi got up and looked around the room again. He noticed a white piece of cloth. He picked it up carefully and carefully sniffed it. He felt a wave of dizziness and leaned on the bed.   
  
"Shu-chan!" Ran cried out. Shuichi waved a hand, indicating that he was okay. Then he turned to Hattori and threw the cloth at him. Then he turned to Hino and gave a glare.   
  
"Neko-san is not the killer. She was drugged." Shuichi said. "The cloth I just tossed has sleeping gas in it. There was no way for her to know or even kill anyone."  
  
"But why? If the killer drugged her, why not kill her?" K asked as he studied the room.   
  
"Because the killer didn't drug her." Shuichi said. Conan looked at the note again and began to understand. His cousin always seems to be one step ahead of him.  
  
"That's stupid! What kind of detective are you?" Hino demanded. Shuichi pointed at the wall of bloody writing.   
  
"The Reaper is known to attack people with sins. He kills sinners in different ways. For those who are closet cases, he kills them and leaves a riddle. Those who are known of their sins are killed open in public and left with a card. The person who drugged Neko-san was the bodyguard." Shuichi explain. Heiji eyes light up at that.   
  
"I see. The Reaper killed the bodyguard because he was going to either rape Neko-san or do something else." Heiji said.   
  
Hiro felt like vomiting at the sight of the body. He could see Sugeru paling as well. He could not understand how calm Shuichi was. Hino turned to Mouri in anger.   
  
"Are you going to let that pink fluff take over?" Hino snapped. Mouri gave a glare at him.   
  
"That pink fluff is the only one who can take on this game. Besides, Shindo, what the hell does the note mean?" Mouri asked, ignoring Hino.   
  
"The first three lines of it state that he killed the bodyguard and the reason for it. The next one states that he is planning to kill another. The last two are questions. He's wondering why he was ignored for a month and what I'm planning to do about this." Shuichi said as he looked at the room again.   
  
"We need to go to a different room. I don't think having a conversation here is going to help much." Mouri said as he laid a sheet over the body.   
  
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Everyone was quiet during as they waited for someone to say something. Shuichi and Conan yawned. Conan was currently leaning against Shuichi who was leaning against a wall. Ran giggled for she thought that the two made a cute scene. However the other guests seem more nervous then the two. The Bad Luck group watched Shuichi who seem normal. Hino and Mills were looking at everyone nervously. Mei was still crying while Ran and Kazuha were trying to comfort her. Magami was pale and had his head hidden in his hands. Then he looked up and sighed.   
  
"How should be go about this?" Magami asked tiredly. Hino glared at him.  
  
"How the hell should we know? You got us into this damn mess! And you!" Hino snarled as he turned to Shuichi who looked at him with a shrug. "This is your entire fault! If you never messed with this psycho, we would never be in this mess!"   
  
"Hey! It's not his fault!" Ran said angrily. Hino turned to her and glared.   
  
"Actually I think you would have been a victim anyway, no matter what. I would still be here or even dead if I didn't play his game. Let me explain what I can from my memory. Since we have no access to police files, we'll have to wing everything. Hattori, have you got enough to form a profile?" Shuichi asked. Heiji gave a nod.   
  
"From the events of tonight, his hit list is your group, Hino-san, Mills, and possibly Magami-san." Heiji began.   
  
"Nani? What about you?" Hiro asked frowning.   
  
"The Reaper won't be attacking anyone who is not part of the list or riddle. So the ones that are safe are the kids, Ran, and the detectives. And you too Doc." Shuichi answered.  
  
"But aren't you a detective?" Sugeru asked curiously. Shuichi gave a smile.   
  
"It's his excuse to kill me. Trust me, the last time we met, he was pretty piss of at me." Shuichi said weakly. Then he nodded for Heiji to continue.  
  
"I also have the feeling that the next victim is going to be either Hino-san or Magami-san."  
  
"NANI?! No! You better catch this killer!" Hino snarled.   
  
"You're missing a few others, Hattori. I won't blame you for missing them. We have four other targets. Yuki-san, Seguchi-san, K, and Sanoko are also targets." Shuichi said calmly.   
  
"I'm beginning to hate you, Shindo. Just what makes you think you know who the next target is?" Mills said finally as he stared at the pink hair singer.   
  
"It's the riddle that the Reaper left us. Blood of Mars still stirs and the Vulcan's hammer demands revenge. It means the victim is a male hot head and that what ever wrong doing that the victim has done; it would be revenge for another." Shuichi explain.   
  
"Right, this killer seems to be someone who knows the house very well. Magami-san, are there any maids or butlers around here?" Heiji asked.  
  
Magami shook his head.   
  
"The note told me to make everyone but all of you to leave. Dinner was served and after Shindo gave that announcement, all of them left." The man said quietly.   
  
"That leaves us with suspecting everyone here." Mouri said frowning.   
  
"What about him? He seems to know a lot about this Reaper. I wouldn't be surprise if the killer was him!" Hino said as he pointed at Shuichi. However the writer was met with a gun barrel and several glares.   
  
"Shuichi would be the last person to murder anyone!' Hiro snarled as he defended his best friend. However, Yuki's eyes were trained on Shuichi as the singer's eyes were slightly sad.   
  
"Everyone wants to murder someone at some point in their life, Hiro. Some people get to do it." Shuichi said softly. The others blinked at that and then Heiji cleared his throat.   
  
"I think we all need to stay together for now. And Magami-san, we will need blueprints of this house."  
  
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Sorry everyone that you waited so long for this and it's pretty short. I had a block on my mind. Now I think I have a few good ideas to go with this! Review! 


	4. The Confession

Here's the next chapter to this…hope you all like this. If you want a disclaimer…go find it in the first chapter.   
  
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Act Four: The Confession  
  
  
"I see, so these are the recent blueprints? It doesn't seem like much for a mansion." Heiji said frowning. Shuichi gave a nod at that as well as Conan. Three had managed to stay far enough from the others as they worked.   
  
"I say they're not complete." Conan said as he carefully peered at the plans.   
  
"Interesting, I never thought that the Reaper was interested in Classic era." Shuichi mused.  
  
"Be serious." Conan said as he traced some of the prints.  
  
"I am."  
  
"We know that it wasn't a closed room murder. Thirty minutes is a lot of time for anyone to commit a simple murder. Not only that, we still to figure out which one is the next target." Heiji said tiredly. Conan stared at Shuichi who was still looking at the prints. Somehow, something was not right. He just could not figure out what was wrong.   
  
"The two of you were together when we heard the scream. I was with my band mates at that time. I'm pretty sure that K was with Yuki and my bosses. Hino seems to be the type who would stick with someone and that would be Mills." Shuichi said frowning.   
  
"That means everyone here is innocent." Conan said softly, still watching Shuichi.   
  
"You're forgetting about, Magami." Heiji argued. Shuichi shook his head.  
  
"Magami is innocent. I know that for a fact. I've seen the Reaper before, Magami is not him." Shuichi said firmly. Conan blinked at that. His brain was going around in circles. He could actually begin to understand everything, but he lacked only a couple connections.   
  
"Hey! Aren't you going to share what you're discussing about with the rest of us?" Kazuha asked frowning. The three blinked and looked at the others. They were discussing to themselves that they did not noticed the looks the others were giving them. Shuichi gave a laugh and grinned.   
  
"So far we're saying that no one here is the murderer. That means that there's someone in this house. Our best bet would be sticking together in groups. We should stick everyone in twos. However, I doubt Hino-san will be pleased with that. Hino-san, Mills-san, Yuki-san, K-san, Seguchi-san, Sanoko, and Magmi are one group." Shuichi said smiling.   
  
"But Mills isn't part of the list of targets." Heiji said frowning.   
  
"He'll be the one who can come out of this alive and tell us any details." Shuichi answered quietly. Heiji gave him a weird look but nodded.   
  
"The Doc stays with the kids, which include you as well." Shuichi said as he looked down at Conan who rolled his eyes.   
  
"We should have Ran and Kazuha stay with Hiro and Suguru. That leaves you, me, and Neko-san." Shuichi said turning to Heiji. "Oh and you Mouri-san…you might want to stay with the target group as well. They could use a detective around just in case."   
  
Yuki could feel that something was not right. He would like to protest except someone beat him to it.   
  
"Shuichi, why are you grouping us this way?" Hiro asked. Shuichi turned and gave a smile at him.   
  
"Just want to protect my friends. I want to catch this guy before he hurts more people. Come on, Hattori, Neko-san. I need to take you back to your bedroom. I want you to describe as much as you can before you were drugged." Shuichi said as he dragged Heiji and Mei.   
  
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Conan frowned as he studied everyone that was in the room with the exception of the trio that had left them. He knew that there was something that did not fit everything he had seen, heard, and remembered. He closed his eyes trying to remember.   
  
FLASHBACK  
  
"Shu-chan! What are you doing?" a ten year old Shinichi asked frowning. Shuichi gave a smile as he turned to face his cousin.   
  
"I'm off to finish off a case, Shin-chan!"  
  
"Is it the one you been working on for the longest time?" Shinichi asked excited for cousin. Shuichi gave a nod.   
  
"Hai! I'll give you all the details whenever the police let me!" Shuichi said as he walked away.   
  
FLASHBACK  
  
But Shuichi never did give him any details. That was the problem with this. Ever since Shuichi returned, he had not given any details. He had just smiled and told him that it was nothing and that it had ended. That was Shuichi, smiling and getting people off track. Including himself.   
  
"What's taking those three so long?" Hino grumbled. Conan blinked as he looked up and noticed how much time had passed. The three should have been back by now, or at least sent someone to tell them what was going on. Conan sighed as he stared at the white ceiling. White unblemished ceiling. White.   
  
"Kuso!" he yelled as he ran for the door. Everyone else blinked and gasped at the little boy who ran out of the room.   
  
"Conan!" Ran called out as she ran out to find the boy. Conan ignored her as he ran through the facts in his head. Why did he not figure it out sooner? Why did not Shuichi tell him? There were so many whys.   
  
"Where the hell is that brat going?" Yuki snarled as he ran with everyone else.   
  
"Probably to Shindo-san." Tohma said as he concentrated on his running as well.   
  
Conan activated his sneakers and kicked the door open. His face turned grim as he saw Heiji on the floor and no sign of Shuichi or Mei. A winced as he heard a scream. It was either Kazuha or Ran.   
  
"What happened? Heiji! Heiji!" Kazuha cried as she tried to wake up the teenage detective. Ran began to calm the other girl down. From the way Heiji's chest was moving, he was alive. Conan quickly glanced around. Where could they be? He turned to his memory for any clue, any clue at all.  
  
"It seems like Hino was right from the beginning." K said coldly as he began to load his gun.  
  
"You mean about…" Hiro asked gasping.   
  
"Yeah, looks like our real killer is Neko-san." K said. "We need to stick in pairs. Kids stay out of this and…"  
  
However Conan already was racing out the door. He had to find his cousin first. He could only make a stab at where Shuichi was at and he was going to go with it.   
  
"I better be right about this." He grumbled.   
  
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Conan gasped as he finally reached the gardens. He looked and then hid behind a hedge as he saw Shuichi and Mei facing each other.   
  
"How long were you going to pretend?" Mei asked quietly. Shuichi said nothing as she played with his yo-yo. Conan peeked to see the angry face that was showing on Mei's face. "Quit acting like a fool! I hated it whenever I saw you acting like that on TV."  
  
Shuichi stopped and stared at her sadly.   
  
"I see. How long did it take you to find me?" Shuichi asked softly. Mei gave a laugh at that.   
  
"Not too long. Ever since I saw you I hated you."   
  
"You do know that you're not the first person to hate me."  
  
"I know, but I will be the last one." Mei said coldly as she held up a gun that she had hid in her purse. She had it calmly and it was aimed at Shuichi's chest. Shuichi just stared at it sadly.   
  
"I see." Shuichi said quietly. Mei gave an insane laugh.   
  
"You don't see. I could just kill you here and no one will figure out who the real murderer is. You were the only who knew and you purposely lead everyone in a merry chase." Mei said smiling.   
  
"What are you planning to do afterwards? Kill the others?"  
  
"Maybe…I'll kill those annoying friends of yours. Maybe even your lover. How do you think?"  
  
Shuichi gave a smile and chuckled.  
  
"Do you honestly think that I'm the only one who knows that you're the real killer? Hattori will know as well as Mouri. Too bad you messed up your alibi at bit." Shuichi said calmly. Conan gave a smirk as he heard that. So Shuichi knew that he was going to figure out.   
  
"Hey kid, what's going on?"   
  
Conan turned to see everyone else was watching and K was fingering the trigger to his gun. He could see that Hattori was groggy but awake and trying to listen in the soon to be confession.   
  
"Shindo is about to make her confess her crime, we need to be quiet about this." Heiji whispered.   
  
"Nani? What do you mean by that?" Mei asked coldly. Shuichi gave a smirk and shook his head.   
  
"You are naive. The cloth that was supposed to drug you, it was clean. If your body guard really had drugged you, the pressure that it takes to hold the cloth against your mouth and face would be enough to make the cloth colored with your make up." Shuichi said smiling. Mei's eyes widen at that. "I've noticed that you wore a good amount of makeup when we first met."  
  
"Damn you! What makes you think they'll figure out?"  
  
"I don't think they would, only one person will. I'm counting on him to find you before you kill anyone else." Shuichi said as he began to play with the yo-yo once again.   
  
"How can you stay calm? Aren't you scared that you're going to die? Aren't you?" Mei demanded. Shuichi looked at her.  
  
"You don't scare me. I stopped being scared of anything when I faced your father." Shuichi said softly. Mei began to laugh at that.   
  
"Of course! You killed him! You killed my father and the police did nothing about it! It was exactly like this! You had a gun in your hands and you shot him point blank!" Mei snarled.   
  
Everyone was quiet as they heard this. Conan closed his eyes and sighed softly. Everything was beginning to make sense once again. He was beginning to solve the puzzle that had bothered him for the longest time. However there was only one more piece to fit and he would be able to understand.   
  
"Shuichi, I can't believe he would…" Hiro said shocked. K frowned to see all the people listening to this. He would have to make sure none of them would repeat this to the media.   
  
"Yes, I did kill him. However, what makes you think that he would have lived if we just have caught him. In the United States, he would have gotten capitol punishment. What do you think the Japanese government would have let him live? Despite the fact that your father had killed off those who have threaten society more than once, did he even think about the families that were left behind? I doubt it. Besides he had a sick fascination with an eleven year old." Shuichi said, his voice just a little firm.   
  
"Shut up. Shut up!" Mei screamed as the gun began to shake slightly.   
  
"No, I won't. I think you do need to hear this. Your father is the Reaper. He killed over twenty people and screwed the police over it. Not only that, he started to play games with an eleven year old kid who managed to solve all of his riddles. Your father was a sick man, there's nothing you can gain by doing any of this." Shuichi said glaring at her.   
  
"But you killed him…" Mei said as she managed to control herself and to hold the gun steady with both hands. Shuichi's eyes grew hard at that.  
  
"Yes, I killed him. That's because I found who was his next target was going to be. I shot him because I didn't want him to kill any more. The police report didn't say much on what happened. Do you want to hear what really happened?" Shuichi asked softly.   
  
Mei said nothing as she stared at him with a cold gaze. Shuichi took it as a yes.  
  
"The target that your father picked was a banker who had embezzled some money from the bank that he was working with. The police and I got there early enough to chase your father down. However it was really just a trap for me since he barred the door as soon as I came onto the roof top. However, I had stolen a gun from of the officers earlier. The inspector wanted me to stay put, but the Reaper wanted to meet me in person for the first time. I was stupid at that time and a bit proud. I was the one who was solving all of the riddles. I was the one who could outthink the Reaper. I wanted to see him.   
  
"Anyway, by the time he had the locked the door, I realized that it was a trap. I admit I was scared shitless. Your father had this sword on him. He kept on reciting poetry on how he would kill me. By this time, I think I was crying. The gun had fallen out of my hands and I think I was sitting on the floor by this time since I couldn't stand. Then your father said something that really ticked me off.  
  
"Love of a kin is strong  
Death of him would do you wrong  
Blood shall spill after yours  
The little child born on Athen's shores  
  
"You have no idea how pissed off I was when I heard that. Your father was planning to kill my cousin Shinichi. So I took the gun and shot him point blank like you said. That's what really happened." Shuichi said calmly.   
  
By now Mei was sitting on the ground, but the gun was still in her hands. Shuichi was still playing with the yo-yo as silence filled the area.   
  
"Afterwards, I discovered that if I keep working on cases and forget caution, people I love would be in danger. After all, you purposely invited them. Even now, my actions from the past have caught up to me." Shuichi said with a sigh.   
  
"Shut up. I still have a gun here. I can shoot you. No, I will shoot you!" Mei cried out as she pointed the gun and fired.  
  
All at once, everyone emerged from the bushes. At the same time, the yo-yo that Shuichi was playing with shot out and knocked Mei in the head. Both the singer and the actor fell to the ground at the same time.   
  
"Shu-chan!" Ran cried out as she and Yuki ran to the singer. Yuki paled as he noticed a small pool of blood was forming and that the singer was not responding to Ran's cries. He turned to the others and glared at them.   
  
"He's been shot in the chest. Get an ambulance!"   
  
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How did you guys like it? I think I have one more chapter before it's finished. Then it'll be the very first fanfic that I have ever finished! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Review and tell me who you guys really thought the murderer was! 


	5. Reflection

Act Five: The Reflection  
Shuichi groaned as he felt pain coming from his left shoulder. He tried to open his eyes, but everything looked blurry to him. He tried to breathe only to find out just how dry his mouth and throat were. He wanted water, no, he needed water, now! He tried opening his eyes again and managed to see someone there besides him.   
  
"Water…water…" he rasped. He closed his eyes again and he could feel a straw being pushed pasted his dry lips. He greedily sucked the ice cold water. He wanted more of the icy liquid, but it was pulled away from him. He could here a female's voice saying that he should sleep. He was about to complain when darkness took over him again.   
  
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Everyone else was at the waiting room. Conan was trying his best to find a chance to sneak into his cousin's room, only to discover that there was a nurse by him. Oh well, he could always put the nurse to sleep if needed. However, he had a really bad feeling that someone was watching him…no make that three people. All three are blonds.   
  
"Damn Americans. Why isn't the saying about blondes true?" Conan thought as he tried to ignore Yuki's glare. Then a nurse came in with a smile.   
  
"He's going to be fine. Just woke up for water." She said smiling. Ran gave a sigh of relief.   
  
"May we see him?" Ran asked smiling hopefully. The nurse shook her head.   
  
"He needs sleep." The nurse began. Conan looked up and began to fake some tears. The nurse crumbled under his sad look. "Well, if you're quiet, maybe a couple of people at a time."  
  
"Good! I'll take Conan with me." Heiji said quickly as he dragged Conan away from everyone else. The nurse gave a smile at the thought of the teenager taking care of the little boy. It was cute. However, Yuki got up and grabbed Conan from Heiji and walked down the hall.   
  
"Hey!! Whacha doing mister?!" Conan cried out in alarm.  
  
Yuki gave him a glare as he continued on to see Shuichi. This brat was going to tell him everything and if he did not, hell will break loose. The nurse tried her best to stop him, but he only gave her a smirk that he knew would disarm her.   
  
He had to hide his exasperation over her sighs, stuttering, and flush cheeks. Conan gave him a look. How the hell did his cousin fall for a guy like that?  
  
After only a few words being exchanged, Yuki managed to convince the nurse to let him in. Conan winced as his grip tightened and felt his tiny body being dragged into the room.   
  
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Yuki gave a silent sigh of relief at the sight of his lover sleeping. At least there was some color on that face. He had to smirk as seeing Shuichi sleeping on the bed looking sick reminded him of the first time they slept together. But he mentally shook his head and scowled. It would be awhile before Shuichi would have the energy to do anything fun.  
  
He turned his scowl down to the kid who was looking relieved at the sight of the pink rock star. He took a seat and light up a smoke.   
  
"Those things are going to kill you and him." The brat said frowning. Yuki gave a sneer as he blew smoke in the kid's face.   
  
"Looks like it's going to kill you as well, gaki. Tell me, who the fuck are you?"  
  
Conan blinked as pulled out his innocent look. Yuki's face twisted into a frown. Thank kami that Shuichi was a male. He would hate it if the baka got pregnant.   
  
"Whacha talking about Onnisan?" Conan asked cutely, cursing himself for getting too involved into a case. People would usually ignore him.   
  
"You're no ordinary brat. For someone who just met that baka, you two seem close. And those damn eyes remind me too much of him. Also, you were the one who found him before he got himself shot." Yuki snapped. Conan narrowed his eyes a bit and then shrugged.  
  
"Onnisan must be stressed out because Shuichi-onnisan got shot. You're very weird, onnisan." Conana said innocently.   
  
However, instead of leading the blond astray, it only made him more suspicious of the child. He finished off the first cigarette before lighting up another one. He took a few puffs before feeling calm enough to talk again.  
  
"I'm a writer. Although my genre is romance, I do look for sub-genres to create a best seller. Mystery is one of them. I even did a little tour with police. I heard some interesting rumor about that so-call detective, Mouri Kogorou. They call him the sleeping detective. He always managed to solve a case while sleeping. But here's the part that gets to me, he's usually with his kid and another brat. Not only that, the police seemed to know this brat quite well since he's so damn curious and point out some evidence that no one else ever seen. Ever seen him?" Yuki asked calmly as he stared at the brat in front of him.  
  
Conan blinked and then smirked at that. A pity Shuichi never introduce this guy to his uncle. Yuki could be just as good as a mystery writer. The boy looked over Yuki for a moment before sighing and took off his glasses.   
  
"You're quite smart, Yuki-san. At first I was quite doubtful about your relationship with my cousin, but it seems like he made a very interesting and caring choose."  
  
"Caring?"  
  
Conan gave a grin as he pointed to his cigarette.  
  
"When you were exhaling, you made sure the smoke never reached Shuichi. Also the fact that posture in your seating shows that you're tense, waiting for him to wake up. And if I weren't here right now, you would probably be sitting closer to him. You're a private person, Yuki-san. From the coloring of your skin, you spend your time in the indoors. You dislike being around people unless it is necessary. You wear sunglasses so people won't look at your eyes for clues of your current emotional state. You don't like to trust too many people, but people do trust you their secrets, except for Shuichi." Conan rattled out.  
  
Yuki could feel several veins twitching. Just who was this damn gaki? How the hell did he managed to narrow down his personality so well?  
  
"Your reason for not being able to trust so well, must have happen in your childhood, most likely from a person who was extremely close to you. Your bad boy attitude proves to me that you must hate people who are perfect. The fact that you are a writer is due to the fact that you like to be in control. You like to plan the character's lives out; causing you to read people quickly and most of the time quite correct."  
  
"Shut the fuck up. What are you, gaki?" Yuki snarled as he clenched his fists. The brat was reading him too easily.   
  
Conan smiled and then sighed.  
  
"My name is Edogawa Conan, however, my real name is Kudo Shinichi."  
  
Yuki blinked and scowled at that. "K mentioned something about a Kudo Shinichi. I thought he was missing."  
  
Conan shook his head at that.   
  
"That's what I wanted people to think. Shuichi knows the story to this since my father told him, but someone tried to poison me and the drug just made me into a kid."  
  
"That kind of shit could sell a lot of money for those old geezers. Shit, if my father took one, he wouldn't be bugging the shit out of me in taking over the damn temple." Yuki grumbled. Conan chuckled at that.   
  
"Ah, Shuichi told be about that. I can't believe that he go that far into getting you back. Anyway, the drug was not exactly legal and the jerks didn't stay to check the results. They don't even know that I'm alive and I'm keeping it that way that is until I can reveal them and destroy their plans. Also the fact that the creator of the drug has to work on the antidote to it. She took it in order to save herself."  
  
"So how come you asked the baka to help you out on this case?" Yuki asked coldly. Conan sighed and then for a moment looked exhausted.   
  
"Ran…it's not like I can have the eighteen year old Kudo Shinichi to appear. I could ask Hattori to help me, but his girlfriend can easily see through his disguise. There have been only a few, extremely few chances where I had gained my old body. I managed to pass any invitations that were given to me to that baka detective, but in this case I couldn't. Ran was getting angry about me not seeing her, so I asked for Shuichi to help me out. For now, this will calm Ran down…unless she gets mad about Shinichi not coming by to check on his cousin who got shot in his place."  
  
"Shot in his place? I thought that bitch was after him." Yuki said as he nodded towards the patient.   
  
"That's because our invitation were dated to the next two days." A weak voice said from the bed. The two turned to see a barely awake Shuichi wincing and trying his best to sit up.   
  
"Baka! Quit moving around so much." Yuki snapped as he gently raised Shuichi into a sitting position. "And what the hell do you mean?"  
  
"Neko-san was planning to kill Shinichi first to hurt Shuichi and then kill him." Conan said. Shuichi gave a nod and a very weak grin.   
  
"Your skills are surpassing mine, Shin-chan." Shuichi teased. Then he winced at the pain on his shoulder. "Man, I hope this isn't going to ache while I perform."  
  
"Baka. It's your own damn fault for getting shot." Yuki said while rolling his eyes. Shuichi gave a smile and leaned his head to place it on his grumpy lover's shoulder. Conan gave a smirk at the display he was getting.   
  
"Hai. It's my fault." Shuichi murmured. Yuki sighed as he gentle ruffled the pink hair he had grown to love.   
  
"As much as I know how much you love to just ignore the world, but Yuki-san, shouldn't you be leaving and telling everyone to not to worry about Shuichi? Those other two blonds…they're going to be wondering about us." Conan said nodding towards the door.   
  
Yuki scowled but said nothing at that. The brat had a point on that. He was surprised that the crazy manager and his brother-in-law have not yet burst into the room. After another pat on the head for Shuichi, he stood up and began to walk to the door.   
  
"Yuki-san."  
  
The man paused as he looked over at the eight year old. The brat had an expression that should never be on a kid's face.   
  
"What I just told you…it must not be said towards anyone. If you do…you'll be putting Shuichi in danger as well."  
  
The blond gave an annoyed expression before he turned his back and walked out of the room.  
  
The two cousins stared at the door before giving each other grins at Yuki's reaction. Shuichi had to admit that it was one of reasons why he had fallen love with the blond novelist. That guy was just so cool!!  
  
"Ne, Shu-chan, I never really thought that you would ever get together with a guy, much less a guy like him." Conan said shaking his head as he pushed his fake glasses up.   
  
"Hey, at least I am getting somewhere with him. You know what mom tells me about him? The time I was sick, he came down from Kyoto to see me, mom swore that he was charming as hell. Imagine my surprise when I think about her impression of Yuki and mine. Makes me wish he was that charming with me." Shuichi said softly as he smiled.   
  
Conan gave a snort at that. Yuki was easy to read, only if Shuichi was either sleeping or not with him. Baka, acting like that around his cousin. No wonder his cousin kept on going after him.   
  
"Maa, maa. You shouldn't act like that. After all, you're doing the same as me. Staying close to the one we love. We could have other options, but we always take the difficult and embarrassing ones."   
  
Conan blinked and then smiled. "Baka. We take the path that leads us to our truth. After all, we both know the truth of our feelings. Didn't you know that, Shu-chan? Love makes you do crazy things."  
  
Shuichi blinked and felt a yawn trying to escape his mouth. He gave a tired nod. All the talking and the excitement was taking a toll on his weaken body. He needed to finish this talk with Conan before he could fall asleep.  
  
"Like I said, you're the better detective." The singer said as he lay back down. The turned child teen smirked at that and gave a nod.   
  
"If you say so, Shu-chan."  
  
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Three weeks later…  
  
Shuichi carefully looked around the corner. It was his first day back to work, but he still had the bandages to the wound. The damn shoulder hurt like hell if he moved it too much. He gave a sigh as he remembered just how twitchy Yuki had been lately. Lack of sex was getting to the both of them…  
  
He himself was jumpy at the stares that his friends and co-workers were giving him. Although Hiro took the idea of him being a detective slightly amusing, his reaction was more welcome compared to the ones he got from the rest of the band.   
  
Touma and K were trying their best in getting the new information out of him to good use for the band. Shuichi swore the man even had a hint of respect in his eyes when he looked at the lead singer of Bad Luck. Now if only that smiling son of a bitch would just leave him alone with Yuki. Shuichi sighed and shook his head. He really should not be expecting too much.  
  
Sakano was now in hysterics in trying to find ways to protect him and the rest of the band. The poor man was worried that more Shuichi old enemies would try to hurt Bad Luck like Neko-san had almost done. Man, just a few more inches and he would have been a goner for sure.   
  
"Good thing her aim sucks." Shuichi muttered under his breath while still keeping his violet eyes on a look out for any signs of trouble.   
  
Sugeru was the one who changed the most out of the group. He kept on asking Shuichi to help him solve crossword puzzles and all kinds of riddles. Shuichi swore he felt like an insect being observed by some mad scientist. Not that the Bad Luck pianist was mad, the kid was just curious. At least that was what Shuichi was hoping it was.   
  
However, none of these people were on Shuichi's worried mind to look out for. The teen was silent, hoping that the person would not show up at all today.   
  
"SHU-CHAN!!!"  
  
Shuichi paled as he heard the yell from behind him. Damn!! How did he do it?!  
  
"SHU-CHAN! SHU-CHAN! SHU-CHAN!"  
  
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Hiro blinked as he looked at the commotion that the two idol singers were doing. Ryuichi and his stuff pink bunny were hugging Shuichi who was hugging back. Hiro briefly wondered if he should get the older man off of his best friend but then shook his head. Ryuichi could be strong as a bull when he wanted to.   
  
Of course the guy would act like a baby as well. When the Nittle Grasper singer heard that Shuichi was shot, it took a week to calm Ryuichi down who had gotten the thought that K had shot his younger idol singer. The green haired man was jumpy around K for while until Shuichi had finally called from the hospital and explained the whole thing to the stuff animal fist who then explained everything to his master.   
  
Hiro thought it was weird that Shuichi would talk with a stuff animal, but then he shrugged. What else could calm the older singer down?  
  
Then the guitarist grinned as he watched the two singers dance around in costumes of a pink bunny and a dog. The two were like kids, celebrating over the simplest things.   
  
Yes, things were back to normal.  
  
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This is the end of the fic…finally. Hope you all like. Like I said, for a disclaimer read the first chapter or it. Sorry for taking so long. I just had no idea on how it would end. I'm thinking about having a fic continuing on with a new baddie…but this person is going after Shuichi's heart. Hmm…might be fun to write out. If so, shout it out!! 


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